'Icing on Cake' for Historical Society Grounds

Seven years ago, the three-quarters of an acre behind Greenfield Hall on Kings Highway East was downright ugly. It was weed-infested, and between the rear of the Historical Society of Haddonfield building to the property line, the ground dropped off eight feet.

“It was a mess,” said Robert Marshall, who with other members of the society look today with delight at a landscaped and essentially private pocket park.

In June, the society completed installation of a pergola that is a new focal point designed to enhance the setting while attracting would-be celebrants looking for an appropriate site for an outdoor event.

Reflecting in the delay between the decision to rehabilitate the former cow pasture and all-but-completion of the project, Lee Albright, president of the historical society, said the lag was a good thing. “If we had taken the money we had (earmarked for the project) and run with it, we would not have the structure we now have,” she said.

Today the copper-roofed pergola, which waits only for a coat of paint to match the cream siding of Greenfield Hall, is fitted for electricity and has outdoor lighting.

The landscaping and construction cost close to $250,000, raised from endowments, financial gifts from the Haddonfield Rotary Club and a large donation for resident Joe Murphy.

An economic downturn cleared the way for the society to hire Paul Dorko, an owner of Hidden Valley Nursery, the Stockton-based firm that restored the 19th-century Italianate garden at Drumthwacket, the official residence of the governor of New Jersey.

“We didn’t know if we could convince him to take on this project, but the timing was good. Most people say we got a bargain,” Marshall said.

The flailing economy also meant the availability of Black Diamond Contracting, which did the construction.

The property had been known as The Boxwoods, said Marshall, but those same shrubs that lent their name to the back lot had to be dug up while the entire lot was re-graded. Retaining walls had to be built as well. “This was not an ordinary landscaping job,” said Marshall.

A subdivision that permitted construction of private homes behind the society’s plot pushed the society’s trustees to improve their own property. “We wanted to give a gift to the town,” Marshall said.

Albright said the society had to complete the same kinds of applications for construction approval as private homeowners. “It was just like moving into an old house. You’d fix one thing and something else would need attention. One roadblock after another, but it gave us the time and chance to work out the kinks.”

The pergola, Albright said, “is the perfect spot for a wedding. It’s like the icing on the cake.”

Rentals of Greenfield Hall, a red brick Georgian mansion, and the rear yard, are a revenue source for the historical society, she said. The maximum capacity inside the building, which includes a kitchen suitable for use by a catering firm, and several bathrooms, is 50. The yard doubles the capacity and Albright said it’s suitable for use from May through October. Tents often are used and outdoor heaters come out when the air gets nippy.

So far, the updated back yard has been used for a thank-you reception for historical society members and volunteers, an installation ceremony for an Eagle Scout and one wedding.

Two weddings are booked for October, she said.

The area, which includes a paved terrace, can be set up with a bar and high-top tables. Tents often are set up on the interlocking brick patio and a dance floor can be installed on the lawn.

“It’s perfect for an intimate affair with cachet,” Marshall said. “Unlike a hotel that’s here today and gone tomorrow, this is a spot you’ll be able to bring your grandchildren to and say: This is where we were married.”

Marshall also supervises the planting at Greenfield Hall, coordinating with the borough’s Garden Club. “Each fall, I plant 300 to 400 tulip bulbs in the circular planter for spring displays.”

Sometimes Marshall’s gardening plans went awry. “A few years ago I put in $150 worth of chrysanthemums. I don’t know whether it was groundhogs or beer, but they were gone the next day.”

Information about rental fees, a list of preferred caterers and providers of tents and tables is available at historicalsocietyofhaddonfield.org